As I rummage through the recesses of my humidor, fondling the lanceros with child-like glee, my reverie is disturbed by an assertive yet gruff voice rap-tap-tapping at the chamber door of my subconscious. Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn on my left heel, my right fist chambered at my side, ready to strike. As my head whips around, my nostrils are the first to detect the true nature of my assailant. The fragrant aroma of Nicaraguan tobacco could never herald the presence of an enemy. At once I restrain myself and courteously bow to this unexpected visitor. The ghost of Pat Morita stands before me smoking a Padron 5000 between the wire frame of a catcher’s mask. “You remember lesson about balance, Mofo-san?”, he rasps.
  ”Yes sir,” I say, “but what does that have to do with cigars?”
  ”Tell them about the bigger ring gauges,” he said with finality. Then, in an eruption of pale blue cigar smoke, he vanished.

  About five years ago, thicker and thicker cigars began to appear in large numbers in a market that seemed squeamish about anything over 52. Many credit the Diamond Crowns of the mid 1990s as the first really successful thick cigars, weighing in at a solid 54 ring gauge; but it wasn’t until 2002-2003 that the big guys really became popular. Now it seems that every producer is coming out with at least one 54-plus vitola for each line. What are we, as cigar enthusiasts, after in producing and smoking such diametrically enhanced cigars? Is it pop-culture iconography that draws us to these behemoths? It might be Tony Soprano, Tony Montana, or Sigmund Freud (depending on how much time you have). Whatever the attraction that made them popular may be, the truth is that thick ring gauge cigars are an excellent platform for complex blending to come into play.

  Perhaps the perfect example of this idea is the Alec Bradley Maxx line. As the name suggests, these smokes are big. With an average ring gauge of 55(.428571429 for those of you who are keeping score) and a “max” of 62, these bad boys have plenty of room for a blender to play around with. Leaf from Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Honduras makes up the filler of the Maxx. With a Costa Rican binder and a Nicaraguan-Habano wrapper, I expect this cigar to be a veritable tour of the major tobacco producing countries. We’ll find out in this here review, part one in yet another ongoing series. Will all of that geographically diverse tobacco be able to come to some kind of agreement on how quickly to burn? Perhaps the thinner, lighter Mexican tobacco will outpace the heavy, rich Honduran leaf. In the face of droves of naysayers who disdain thicker ring gauges, canoed and tunneled coronas clamped between their teeth in cynical snarls of disapproval; I submit to you, dear reader, that any inconsistency in burn is the result of poor storage. Like any coming-together of disparate interests, it takes time and an even temper to sort things out. If not the varied origins of the tobaccos, then just the sheer volume of filler requires extra time in a well-maintained humidor for the cigar to achieve a uniform humidity level. Then, my friend, you’ll have your even burn and a great smoke. So for now, go out and get yourself a big ‘ol 60 ring gauge monster and stick it in the humidor. It should be ready to smoke at your Superbowl party. Say, is that a CAO Brazilia “Amazon” in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?